Rapper Lil B on 'I'm Gay': 'We're all one people'

Rapper Lil B said he is receivg ath threats bee of his cisn to tle his next album I’m Gay. "People been htg me up like, 'I'm gonna bash your head ,' 'you f----t,' 'I'm gonna kill you,'" said the rapper. Lil B said he is heterosexual but “gay” the sense of happy. He sists that the album name is not a gimmick, a pot raised by officials wh the Gay and Lbian Alliance Agast Defamatn, who said they hoped his album reprented “a scere attempt to be an ally.” * rapper lil b gay *

At this year's Coachella Mic and Arts Ftival, Lil B announced he would name one of his future albums "I'm Gay.

In ont of thoands of ncert-goers at April's Coachella Mic and Arts Ftival, the 21-year-old rap artist announced that he would name one of his future albums "I'm Gay. " "I thk that (announcement) was so much bigger than he was, " said Terrance Dean, a former MTV executive and the openly gay thor of the book "Hidg Hip-Hop. " While advot the LGBT muny like Dean feel that Lil B is scere, others like Lloyd "Gyant" Dwiddie, a BET blogger of the year who is openly gay, aren't so sure.

CAN HIP-HOP HANDLE 'I'M GAY?'

But the artist, who announced that his next album will be lled "I'm Gay", still has a long way to go. * rapper lil b gay *

I hope that I n turn some of my fans that might be homophobic or supporters that might be homophobic and say, "You know what, we're all one people. Lil B: Maly, a lot of them are on Twter, sayg that they're gog to kill me for beg gay, and they're gog to kill me for beg homosexual even though I'm not homosexual.

LIL B IS GAY, VERIFIED

The cisn of the avowedly heterosexual rapper Lil B to name his new album I'm Gay has thkg about the history of the tersectn between gay culture and hip-hop. * rapper lil b gay *

He released an album entled I'm Gay, even though he is heterosexual, to support the LGBT muny. "People been htg me up like, 'I'm gonna bash your head , ' 'you f----t, ' 'I'm gonna kill you, '" said the B said he is heterosexual but “gay” the sense of happy. He sists that the album name is not a gimmick, a pot raised by officials wh the Gay and Lbian Alliance Agast Defamatn, who said they hoped his album reprented “a scere attempt to be an ally.

”The rapper said, "I got major love for the gay and lbian muny, and I jt want to ph ls separatn and that's why I'm dog .

LIL B, I’M GAY

This past Wednday, Lil B released his anticipated album I'm Gay on iTun. The project shows a more ser, trospective si of Based God over soulful productn... * rapper lil b gay *

Rapper Lil’ B ma headl at the Coachella mic ftival over the weekend after he announced that the tle of his upg album will be "I’m Gay. " Now, as more mastream artists attract attentn for embracg the dtry’s gay fans, Lil’ B may be the first well-known rapper to openly urt them. Amid the homophobic and transphonic backlash that followed, Kenyon Farrow wrote that homophobia’s bee a bad bs mol for hip-hop: "No one n afford to have already dwdlg rporate sponsors pulled.

Lil B, the prolific, Inter-obssed Bay Area rapper, announced at Coachella that he would ll his next album I'm Gay – a provotn that extends past the fort zon of many rap fans.

LIL B: GAY OR GIMMICK?

#LoveWs - LGBTQ support om rappers varyg gre of tensy— much like the rappers themselv. Some of the guys kicked off their reers lettg everyone know they were down wh the LGBTQ e om the get-go. Others took years to acknowledge or even embrace the margalized populatn. It’s a topic that didn’t eva even rap legends like Biggie Smalls. It turned out his support was more personal when was revealed 2011 that one of his bt iends was openly gay and that the ceased rapper never had a problem wh wh a Supreme Court lg that brought marriage equaly to the USA, not everyone is down for the e for even voicg support. Check out this set of rappers who still managed to enjoy the us of succs even wh, as 50 Cent lik to put , "gay stuff." — Jon Rey(Photos om left: Frazer Harrison/Getty Imag for C... - One love. * rapper lil b gay *

GLAAD qutned his motiv – was this a prank, or a stealth macho move ak to other rappers' e of the phrase "no homo?

10 PRO-LGBTQ {MARG:12PX TO 0;}@MEDIA (M-WIDTH:980PX){{MAX-WIDTH:50%;}}{FONT:NORMAL 400 1.4REM/1.5 "SOEHNE",SANS-SERIF;TEXT-TRANSFORM:NONE;MARG:12PX TO 0;}@MEDIA (M-WIDTH:980PX){{MAX-WIDTH:50%;}}ONE {BOX-SIZG:BORR-BOX;MARG-BOTTOM:54PX;OVERFLOW-X:HIDN;}{BOX-SIZG:BORR-BOX;DISPLAY:-WEBK-BOX;DISPLAY:-WEBK-FLEX;DISPLAY:-MS-FLEXBOX;DISPLAY:FLEX;BACKGROUND:#FFFFFF;-WEBK-FLEX-DIRECTN:LUMN;-MS-FLEX-DIRECTN:LUMN;FLEX-DIRECTN:LUMN;BOX-SHADOW:0 4PX 8PX 0 RGBA(0,0,0,0.08);MARG-BOTTOM:54PX;}{WIDTH:100%;HEIGHT:TO;} IMG{HEIGHT:100%;WIDTH:100%;OBJECT-F:NTA;}{WIDTH:1800PX;HEIGHT:1014PX;}{BOX-SIZG:BORR-BOX;PADDG:18PX 24PX;DISPLAY:GRID;GRID-GAP:18PX;TEXT-ALIGN:CENTER;}{LOR:#0A0A0A;}{FONT:NORMAL 700 2.0REM/1.25 "SOEHNE",SANS-SERIF;TEXT-TRANSFORM:NONE;LOR:#0A0A0A;}1 / {LOR:#0A0A0A;} A{FONT:HER;LOR:HER;-WEBK-TEXT-RATN:UNRLE;TEXT-RATN:UNRLE;} A:HOVER, A:FOC{-WEBK-TEXT-RATN:NONE;TEXT-RATN:NONE;} STRONG, B{FONT-WEIGHT:BOLR;}{FONT:NORMAL 400 1.4REM/1.5 "SOEHNE",SANS-SERIF;TEXT-TRANSFORM:NONE;LOR:#0A0A0A;} A{FONT:HER;LOR:HER;-WEBK-TEXT-RATN:UNRLE;TEXT-RATN:UNRLE;} A:HOVER, A:FOC{-WEBK-TEXT-RATN:NONE;TEXT-RATN:NONE;} STRONG, B{FONT-WEIGHT:BOLR;}#LOVEWS - LGBTQ SUPPORT OM RAPPERS VARYG GRE OF TENSY— MUCH LIKE THE RAPPERS THEMSELV. SOME OF THE GUYS KICKED OFF THEIR REERS LETTG EVERYONE KNOW THEY WERE DOWN WH THE LGBTQ E OM THE GET-GO. OTHERS TOOK YEARS TO ACKNOWLEDGE OR EVEN EMBRACE THE MARGALIZED POPULATN. IT’S A TOPIC THAT DIDN’T EVA EVEN RAP LEGENDS LIKE BIGGIE SMALLS. IT TURNED OUT HIS SUPPORT WAS MORE PERSONAL WHEN WAS REVEALED 2011 THAT ONE OF HIS BT IENDS WAS OPENLY GAY AND THAT THE CEASED RAPPER NEVER HAD A PROBLEM WH WH A SUPREME COURT LG THAT BROUGHT MARRIAGE EQUALY TO THE USA, NOT EVERYONE IS DOWN FOR THE E FOR EVEN VOICG SUPPORT. CHECK OUT THIS SET OF RAPPERS WHO STILL MANAGED TO ENJOY THE US OF SUCCS EVEN WH, AS 50 CENT LIK TO PUT , "GAY STUFF." — JON REY(PHOTOS OM LEFT: FRAZER HARRISON/GETTY IMAG FOR C...{LOR:#818181;FONT-WEIGHT:400;}{FONT:NORMAL 600 1.4REM/1.2 "SOEHNE",SANS-SERIF;TEXT-TRANSFORM:NONE;LOR:#818181;FONT-WEIGHT:400;}PHOTO BY {LOR:HER;FONT:HER;-WEBK-TEXT-RATN:UNRLE;TEXT-RATN:UNRLE;-WEBK-TEXT-RATN:NONE;TEXT-RATN:NONE;}{LOR:HER;FONT:HER;-WEBK-TEXT-RATN:UNRLE;TEXT-RATN:UNRLE;-WEBK-TEXT-RATN:NONE;TEXT-RATN:NONE;}PHOTOS OM LEFT: FRAZER HARRISON/GETTY IMAG FOR {WIDTH:1800PX;HEIGHT:1073PX;}2 / 11NICKI MAJ - NEVER ONE TO STEER AWAY OM NTROVERSY, EVEN NICKI’S BARS OOZED LGBTQ SUPPORT — HER MALE ALTER EGO WAS A GAY MAN NAMED ROMAN ZOLANSKI. BACK 2010, NICKI VOICED GREAT AMBNS BRIDGG THE GAP BETWEEN HER GAY FANS AND HIP HOP BY MG OVER A HYPOTHETIL TOUR WH LIL WAYNE, "NORMALLY, WAYNE PROBABLY WOULDN'T HAVE GAY GUYS G TO SEE HIS SHOWS MUCH," SHE TOLD OUT, "BUT THEY'RE FELY A BIG PART OF MY MOVEMENT, AND I HOPE THEY'D STILL E OUT AND SEE ME."(PHOTO: ETHAN MILLER/GETTY IMAG){WIDTH:1800PX;HEIGHT:1254PX;}3 / 11LIL B - THE BERKELEY RAPPER MA SOME SOCIAL MEDIA WAV 2011 WHEN HE TLED HIS ALBUM I’M GAY (I’M HAPPY) SOLIDARY WH THE LGBTQ MUNY. EVEN AFTER RECEIVG ATH THREATS ON SOCIAL MEDIA, HE STUCK TO HIS GUNS A CNN TERVIEW: “I HOPE THAT I N TURN SOME OF MY FANS THAT MIGHT BE HOMOPHOBIC OR SUPPORTERS THAT MIGHT BE HOMOPHOBIC AND SAY, ‘YOU KNOW WHAT? WE’RE ALL ONE PEOPLE. THIS IS LOVE.’” (PHOTO: FRAZER HARRISON/GETTY IMAG FOR COACHELLA){WIDTH:1213PX;HEIGHT:1800PX;}4 / 11A$AP ROCKY - THIS HARLEM NATIVE AND PLATUM-SELLG ARTIST IS A STANDOUT EXAMPLE OF HOW NEW HIP HOP ARTISTS ARE MORE OPEN TO EMBRACG THE LGBTQ MUNY. WH A$AP ROCKY, ME OM PURE OBSERVATN WH REGARDS TO HIS OWN LOVE FOR FASHN, “I ED TO BE HOMOPHOBIC, BUT THAT’S FKED UP," HE TOLD PCHFORK. "I HAD TO LOOK THE MIRROR AND SAY, ‘ALL THE SIGNERS I’M WEARG ARE GAY.’” (PHOTO: TIM P. WHBY/GETTY IMAG){WIDTH:1800PX;HEIGHT:1381PX;}5 / 11MACKLEMORE - WHILE "THRIFT SHOP" WAS THE SEATTLE RAPPER’S CLAIM TO FAME, WAS ACTUALLY "SAME LOVE," HIS MARRIAGE EQUALY ANTHEM, THAT PROPELLED THE RAPPER TO BEE A MOUTHPIECE FOR LGBTQ EQUALY HIP HOP. THE POPULAR SONG WAS ACTUALLY BORN OUT OF PERSONAL EXPERIENCE, "I GREW UP WH TWO GAY UNCL ON CAPOL HILL. I WAS ALWAYS AROUND A MUNY OF GAY PEOPLE, AS A HIP HOP ARTIST, 'S STILL A TABOO ISSUE," MACKLEMORE SAID AN TERVIEW WH MIC FOR MARRIAGE EQUALY. "THAT IS CRAZY TO ME. THERE'S SO MUCH FEAR, AND SO MUCH OF DAT BACK TO RELIGN. I THK THAT WE HAVE EVOLVED AS A SOCIETY, AND THIS IS OUR TIME TO CREATE THE CHANGE THAT IS RIGHT." (PHOTO: JONATHAN LEIBSON/GETTY IMAG FOR PEPSI){MARG-BOTTOM:54PX;}{BOX-SIZG:BORR-BOX;MARG-BOTTOM:54PX;}{BOX-SIZG:BORR-BOX;DISPLAY:NONE;DISPLAY:-WEBK-BOX;DISPLAY:-WEBK-FLEX;DISPLAY:-MS-FLEXBOX;DISPLAY:FLEX;} + .E1IATVX90{DISPLAY:NONE;}(:EMPTY){DISPLAY:-WEBK-BOX;DISPLAY:-WEBK-FLEX;DISPLAY:-MS-FLEXBOX;DISPLAY:FLEX;-WEBK-BOX-PACK:CENTER;-WEBK-JTIFY-NTENT:CENTER;-MS-FLEX-PACK:CENTER;JTIFY-NTENT:CENTER;}(:EMPTY) + .E1IATVX90{DISPLAY:BLOCK;}{BACKGROUND-LOR:#0A0A0A;LOR:#FAFAFA;DISPLAY:LE-BLOCK;-WEBK-LETTER-SPACG:NORMAL;-MOZ-LETTER-SPACG:NORMAL;-MS-LETTER-SPACG:NORMAL;LETTER-SPACG:NORMAL;PADDG:2PX 5PX;TEXT-TRANSFORM:UPPERSE;PADDG:3PX 5PX 4PX 5PX;LOR:#C4FF2C;BACKGROUND-LOR:#000000;LOR:#FFFFFF;DISPLAY:BLOCK;TEXT-ALIGN:CENTER;}{FONT:NORMAL 600 1.4REM/1.2 "SOEHNE",SANS-SERIF;TEXT-TRANSFORM:NONE;BACKGROUND-LOR:#0A0A0A;LOR:#FAFAFA;DISPLAY:LE-BLOCK;-WEBK-LETTER-SPACG:NORMAL;-MOZ-LETTER-SPACG:NORMAL;-MS-LETTER-SPACG:NORMAL;LETTER-SPACG:NORMAL;PADDG:2PX 5PX;TEXT-TRANSFORM:UPPERSE;PADDG:3PX 5PX 4PX 5PX;LOR:#C4FF2C;BACKGROUND-LOR:#000000;LOR:#FFFFFF;DISPLAY:BLOCK;TEXT-ALIGN:CENTER;}{WIDTH:1380PX;HEIGHT:1800PX;}6 / 11FAT JOE - THE NYC RAPPER JOED THE NVERSATN OF LGBTQ ACCEPTANCE HIP HOP WH AN ACKNOWLEDGMENT TO VLADTV THAT HE’S WORKED ON SONGS WH GAY RAPPERS, “IN 2011 YOU GOTTA HI THAT YOU GAY? BE REAL! ‘YO, I’M GAY. WHAT THE FK!’ IF YOU GAY, YOU GAY. THAT’S YOUR PREFERENCE. F**K IF THE PEOPLE DON’T LIKE .” (PHOTO: ROB FOLDY/GETTY IMAG){WIDTH:1680PX;HEIGHT:1800PX;}7 / 11KANYE WT - KANYE WT'S OUTSPOKEN LGBTQ SUPPORT DAT BACK TO 2005, WHEN HE TOLD SWAY ON MTV ABOUT HIS PERSONAL NNECTN TO THE LGBTQ MUNY, “I WOULD E THE WORD ‘F*G’ AND ALWAYS LOOK DOWN UPON GAYS. BUT THEN MY TOLD ME THAT ANOTHER ONE OF MY S WAS GAY, AND I LOVED HIM. HE'S ONE OF MY FAVORE S. AND AT THAT POT WAS KD OF LIKE A TURNG POT WHEN I WAS LIKE, ‘YO, THIS MY , I LOVE HIM AND I BEEN DISCRIMATG AGAST GAYS." SCE THEN, RANTS AND CRAZS ASI, KANYE HAS BEEN A QUIET BUT NSISTENT LGBTQ ALLY. (PHOTO: EZRA SHAW/GETTY IMAG){WIDTH:1800PX;HEIGHT:1239PX;}8 / 11QUEEN LATIFAH - WHILE KEEPG TOTALLY MUM ABOUT HER OWN PERSONAL LIFE (WHICH HAS ALWAYS LEFT PEOPLE SPECULATG ABOUT HER OWN SEXUALY), THE RAPPER OM NEWARK, N.J., HAS BEEN STEADILY MAKG MOV TOWARDS OUTRIGHT LGBTQ SUPPORT. DURG THE 2014 GRAMMY AWARDS, SHE OFFICIATED A MASS WEDDG OF SAME-SEX UPL. EARLIER THIS YEAR, WHEN ASKED ABOUT MARRIAGE EQUALY BY PEOPLE, SHE STATED, "WHO YOU CHOOSE TO MARRY IS REALLY UP TO YOU AND ’S NOT SOMETHG YOU SHOULD BE JUDGED ON. I DON’T FD BEG GAY OR LBIAN TO BE A CHARACTER FLAW. COUPL SHOULD BE PROTECTED UNR THE LAWS OF THIS UNTRY, PERD. IT ACTUALLY ANGERS ME. IT’S NOT UNUAL SO LET’S BE ADULTS AND LET’S MOVE FORWARD." (PHOTO: FRAZER HARRISON/GETTY IMAG FOR AFI){WIDTH:1259PX;HEIGHT:1800PX;}9 / 11EMEM - THGS BETWEEN THE DETRO NATIVE AND THE LGBTQ MUNY HAVE BEEN GHT WH NTROVERSY SCE HIS BUT THE LATE '90S, BUT 2013, EMEM TOLD ROLLG STONE, “THE REAL ME STG HERE RIGHT NOW TALKG TO YOU HAS NO ISSU WH GAY, STRAIGHT, TRANSGENR, AT ALL. I'M GLAD WE LIVE A TIME WHERE 'S REALLY STARTG TO FEEL LIKE PEOPLE N LIVE THEIR LIV AND EXPRS THEMSELV.” (PHOTO: KEVORK DJANSEZIAN/GETTY IMAG FOR MTV){WIDTH:1249PX;HEIGHT:1800PX;}10 / 11JAY Z - GOOD OL' HOV ALWAYS SIS WH REASON, AND HE DID JT THAT 2012 RIGHT AFTER PRINT OBAMA VOLIZED HIS SUPPORT FOR MARRIAGE EQUALY. MR. CARTER SPOKE TO CNN AND DROPPED A LTLE B OF TTH ABOUT THOSE WHO CHOOSE TO DISCRIMATE: “IT’S NO DIFFERENT THAN DISCRIMATG AGAST BLACKS. IT’S DISCRIMATN PLA AND SIMPLE. I THK 'S THE RIGHT THG TO DO, SO WHETHER STS HIM VOT OR NOT — AGA, ’S NOT ABOUT VOT. IT’S ABOUT PEOPLE. IT’S THE RIGHT THG TO DO AS A HUMAN BEG.” (PHOTO: THEO WARGO/GETTY IMAG FOR GLOBAL CIZEN FTIVAL){WIDTH:1800PX;HEIGHT:1304PX;}11 / 11THE GAME - BACK 2011, GAME TOLD VLADTV, “I DON’T HAVE A PROBLEM WH GAY PEOPLE. BEYONCé SHOULDA SAID, ‘WHO SHOULD N THE WORLD?’ GAYS. BEE THEY’RE EVERYWHERE AND RIGHTLY SO.” DON’T GET TWISTED, GAME’S SUPPORT FOR THE LGBTQ MUNY IS ACTUALLY ONLY RERVED FOR THOSE THAT ARE OUT OF THE CLOSET. HIS PROBLEM IS “WH PEOPLE WHO ARE PRETENDG NOT TO BE GAY.” (PHOTO: STT DULSON/GETTY IMAG)

Prolific rapper says he is straight but supports gay and lbian rights * rapper lil b gay *

" Lil B's rponse – surprisgly ser and empathetic – was to exprs "major love for the gay and lbian muny, " spe apparent ath threats. This isn't the first time gay culture and hip-hop have e to ntact, but sce Lil B is a rapper right on the ge of the mastream, and he's puttg himself the middle of the genre's long-term nflict over homosexualy, Ann Powers wrote to Tavia Nyong'o, profsor of performance studi at NYU and blogger at Hear is Queer to talk about where his cisn might take the bate.

This would all strike me as an isolated stunt – claimg that you're g "gay" as "happy, " as Lil B did, sounds kd of like somethg my gra-schooler would do. Big Freedia, queen of the New Orleans "sissy bounce" scene, released her first EP and is brgg her "go homo" anthems natnwi on a succsful tour.

LIL B RECEIV THREATS FOR ‘I’M GAY’ ALBUM TLE

From Tyler, the Creator to Lil Nas X, hip-hop has never had so many stars who intify as gay or bisexual. Is this a blip or a turng pot? * rapper lil b gay *

And the Pacific Northwt llective Rabow Noise ed a Youtube stir wh s jamm' cut, "Imma Homo.

" Hip-hop, long assumed by most to be a stronghold of homophobia, sudnly seems a lot more fluid. In mash-up culture, straight kids appropriatg gay culture isn't weird: what's weird is the ia that we n keep them separate the first place. Unrground artists like Hanifah Walidah, Deadlee, Deep Dickollective, God-D, Cazwell, and basilly all the artists featured the excellent 2006 film Pick up the Mic: The Evolutn of Homohop.

Smalls pots to hip-hop's roots a multiracial 1980s scene that ma space for people like the gay Asian visual artist Mart Wong, who brought graffi artists together wh the downtown gallery scene and was associated wh the semal film Wild Style. And a polics of rpectabily has llud wh the closet to enforce historil visibily upon lbians, gays, bisexuals and transgenred folk, cludg Bentley herself.

LIL B RELEAS ‘I’M GAY’ ALBUM WHOUT WARNG, LUPE FIAS SAYS TLE IS ‘GENI’

But was we move om the era of the closet to what I thk of as an era of queer nvivialy, there will be many more exampl of genr like sissy bounce and artists like Lil B who are unaaid to acknowledge a black culture where straight and gay n share space, sp rhym and tra dance mov. Where hip-hop seems to brg a specific and sometim disturbg flair to good-old Amerin homophobia is s expectatns of an unbreakable masculy ground ghetto-centric ials of toughns.

For too many, "gettg punked" is the absolute anthis of such manhood, such that homosexualy is not so much an inty as a specter that mt be vlently expelled om onelf, one's neighborhood, one's mic, and one's world. Ubiquo homophobic humor about "sissi" like Amerin Idol risg star Jab Lk — whose recently surfaced mugshot produced hostile ter mentary that he might be "happy" wh some jail time — e about bee of a failure to addrs the problems openly and serly. As the great civil rights lear (and gay man) Bayard Rt once said, "The bravt are the most tenr; the lovg are the darg.

Viral vios like Rabow Noise's "Imma Homo, " for stance, e the power of the first person to joyoly fang hip-hop's "no homo" tag. At his Coachella performance, Lil B, spired as ual, announced that, bee "words don't mean sh, " he is gog to make a rerd lled I'm Gay. Words, of urse, mean lots of thgs, which B is not unaware of, and he quickly clarified that he lov women, but that gay also means happy.

CHIGO RAPPER KG LIL JAY ADDRS “GAY” CLAIMS AFTER VIO OF MALE INMATE ALLEGEDLY STG ON HIS LAP GO VIRAL

If he actually do release an album lled I'm Gay, B will certaly be stirrg the pot, but what might make sizzle is to actually say that he is gay.

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